Systems and Methods for Providing ENUM in an LNP Environment

ABSTRACT

A system, computer-readable medium system, and method which provide a telephone number mapping specification in a local number portability environment where an originating device of a first service provider dials a dialed call for forwarding to a terminating device of a second service provider. There is provided a combined local number portability and telephone number mapping database having a central location which is in communication with both an originating office and a terminating office. Both the originating office and the terminating office can look up and use local number portability and telephone number mapping information from the combined database.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a Continuation of and claims priority toco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/628,107 entitled “Systemsand Methods for Providing ENUM in an LNP Environment,” filed Nov. 30,2009, which is a Continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/971,026, filed Oct. 25, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,627,108, issued Dec. 1, 2009, each of which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to providing systems and methods for utilizinglocal number portability (LNP) features to implement telephone numbermapping (ENUM—tElephone NUmber Mapping).

2. Description of Related Art

ENUM establishes a way to link telephone numbers to the Global Internet.This concept can provide a way to reach multiple communication servicesusing a single phone number. For example, one telephone number canprovide a means to contact a user via phone, fax, email, pager, mobilephone, SIP (session initiation protocol) telephony address, website orany other resources that can be described by an internet addressingscheme.

ENUM is a standard adopted by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)that uses the domain name system (DNS) to map telephone numbers to webaddresses or uniform resource locators (URL) or other final handling ortreatments. The goal of the ENUM standard is to provide a protocol whichwill provide for single number access to replace multiple numbers andaddresses for an individual. Handling treatments can includeterminations to home phone, business phone, fax, cell phone, email andother communication devices.

ENUM is a convergence of the PSTN (public switched telephone network)and IP (internet protocol) networks. This method involves the mapping ofa telephone number from the public switched telephone network tointernet functionalities.

The E.164 standard details the components of the numbering structure anddigits required to successfully route calls through the PSTN. Forexample, using a ten digit NANP (North American Numbering Plan)telephone number as an example (1-404-123-4567), the ENUM numberingscheme converts the number into a DNS entry as7.6.5.4.3.2.1.4.0.4.1.e164.arpa.

One of the key functions of the ENUM protocol is the indication ofnaming authority pointer records (NAPTR) that define the service fieldoptions that can be associated with a particular telephone number. Whenan ENUM enabled phone call is placed, a session is initiated through theIP network to the ENUM Server. A lookup is performed in the ENUMregistry database where an authoritative name server is then defined viathe NAPTR information attached. The seamless end-point indicated by theNAPTR can lead to a telephone device, fax machine web site, cell phone,or email address as defined by the host party of the telephone number.

In the current communications environment, it will thus be appreciatedthat local number portability (LNP) allows customers to keep the sametelephone number as they change service providers and technologies.

In the wireless and wire-line environments, LNP makes available ServiceProvider Portability (SPP), which allows the customer to changewireless/local service providers while retaining the same telephonenumber. For instance, one could switch wireless phone carriers (fromVerizon to Cingular) without a change in their number. In addition,Service Provider Portability allows a user to be initially issued alandline number and later transfer that number to a wireless phone uponestablishing a wireless account; or vice versa.

In addition to Service Provider Portability, LNP also provides ServicePortability, which means that the type of service (i.e., plain oldtelephone service (POTS) to integrated service digital network (ISDN)service) can be changed without changing the user's telephone number.

With the implementation of the ENUM and LNP services, the telephonyworld has become extremely robust and adaptable to the changing needs ofcustomers. However, because of their current implementations, there aremany additional advantages inherent to each of them that could befurther advanced should a system and method be devised that couldefficiently provide the ENUM specification in an LNP (POTS) environment.

The current methods used to provide an ENUM specification in the LNP(POTS) environment is cumbersome and inefficient. In the examplesdisclosed herein, it should be appreciated that the terminating officeuses a different LSP (local service provider) than the originatingoffice. Otherwise, the originating office could be directly connected tothe LSP of the terminating office if a call was placed intra-LATA (localarea transport).

As shown in FIG. 1 and in accordance with the prior art, a call isplaced from the originating telephone 105 to the terminating telephone140. The call is initially forwarded to an originating office 110. Uponreceipt of the call, the originating office 110 performs digit analysison the dialed digits to determine how to route the call. A portion ofthis digit analysis can compare the dialed number against a routingtable. The routing table contains information that indicates whether thedialed number is portable or direct dialed. The routing table indicatesthe preferred switching sequence to which the call is then routed. Ofcourse, the actual switching sequence used may be altered due totechnical problems along the sequence (for example, extremely high callvolume, inoperable equipment, etc.)

If the dialed number is listed in the routing table as direct dialed,the call is sent directly from the originating office 110 to theterminating end office 125 through the switching sequence indicated bythe routing table. At the terminating end office 125, a request is sentto a media gateway 130 to determine which NAPTR functions are availablefor that number. Based on the available functions, the call is forwardedto the appropriate server, reformatted, and sent to the telephone 140 oranother designated device, such as an IP phone or a voicemail platform.It should be appreciated that the telephone 140 is only exemplarilydepicted and can be any device addressable by the functions defined bythe NAPTR entry. More particularly, the telephone 140 can be any devicecapable of being addressed using an internet addressing scheme,including a POTS telephone, an IP phone, fax, email, pager mobile phone,SIP (session initiation protocol) phone, or web server (website). Thus,the format of the call can then be amended according to the type ofdevice the telephone 140 is.

If the called number is deemed portable and the terminating end office125 does not reside on the switch controlling the originating office110, the originating office 110 sends an LNP request across the STP(signal transfer point) 115 to the LNP database 120 based on the dialeddigits. A lookup is performed at the LNP database to determine theappropriate routing sequence for the portable number and LNP databasereturns the response to the originating office 110 to handle the callbased on the returned response. Once the call is handled based on theresponse, the call is routed and received at the terminating end officewhere an ENUM lookup is performed as described above. Subsequently, thecall-flow continues to connect the call.

With the current method, numerous steps that are performed could becombined to free system resources and load. With the currentconfiguration and its many steps, numerous steps and system resourcescould cause problems. Thus, the inventors have discerned that there is aneed to merge these technologies in manner that they could beimplemented together while efficiently providing the seamless advantagesof ENUM and the versatility of LNP.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One benefit of this invention is to provide a system for providing anENUM specification in an LNP environment where an originating device ofa first service provider dials a dialed call for forwarding to aterminating device of a second service provider. In the system, anoriginating office of the first service provider receives the dialedcall from the originating device. A terminating office of the secondservice provider, which may be separate from the first local serviceprovider, is where the dialed call is directed by the originating officefor connection to the terminating device. The system also includes acombined LNP and ENUM database which is in communication with both theoriginating office and the terminating office. An originating means forlooking up and using LNP and ENUM information from the combined databaseis then located at the originating office; and a terminating means forlooking up and using LNP and ENUM information from the combined databaseis also located at the terminating office.

In the illustrated embodiment, the originating office includes an LNPcapable central office which includes an LNP application and a routingtable for portable and non-portable numbers. Preferably, the database isconnected to the LNP central office via an STP, and the originatingoffice further includes an originating end office.

In another embodiment, the system further includes a media gateway towhich the terminating office and the database are connected.

It is also a benefit of the present invention to provide a method forutilizing local number portability features to implement telephonenumber mapping. This method utilizes a combined LNP and ENUM databasewhich is provided at a centralized location for ready access by a firstlocal service provider and a second local service provider. In thismethod, dialed digits, including a terminating exchange of the secondlocal provider, of a dialed call having IP type call data are receivedfrom an originating telephone at an originating office of the firstlocal service provider for forwarding to a terminating office of thesecond local service provider associated with the terminating exchange.A digit analysis of the dialed digits is then performed to determinethat the dialed call is directed to an IP device and that theterminating exchange of the dialed call is marked portable. Next, aquery is sent to the LNP and ENUM database based on the dialed digits todetermine an LRN for the terminating exchange and ENUM information forthe IP device. Finally, the dialed call is routed to the IP device inaccordance with the LRN and ENUM information obtained from the LNP andENUM database.

The performing and sending steps are made by the originating office; andthe routing step includes the steps of routing the dialed call and ENUMinformation to the terminating office by the originating office, androuting of the dialed call by the terminating office to the IP device.In addition, the performing a digit analysis step includes the steps ofreceiving the dialed call at an originating end office of theoriginating office and forwarding the dialed call to an LNP centraloffice of the originating office, and determining at the LNP centraloffice that the terminating exchange of the dialed call is portable.Further, the sending a query step includes the step of sending of aquery by the LNP central office to the database to determine the LRN andENUM information.

Also in the preferred method, the performing, sending and routing stepscan also be made by the terminating office. Preferably, the performing adigit analysis step includes the steps of receiving the dialed call atthe originating office and forwarding the dialed call to the terminatingoffice which performs the digit analysis, and determining at theterminating office that the terminating exchange of the dialed call isportable. In addition, the sending a query step includes the step oftransferring the dialed call from the terminating office to a mediagateway associated therewith, and sending of a query by the mediagateway to the database to determine the LRN and ENUM information.Finally, the routing step includes the step of routing the dialed callby the media gateway to the IP device.

As a further benefit, the provisioning for an ENUM enabled customer canbe integrated into a single provisioning stream in the LNP/ENUM server(database).

Other objects and features of the present invention are stated in orapparent from detailed descriptions of embodiments of the inventionfound hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, wherein likereference numerals refer to identical or similar components or steps,with reference to the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional system for providing ENUM in an LNPenvironment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for providing ENUM in an LNP environmentaccording to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an expanded view of the originating office accordingto an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an expanded view of the LNP capable central office ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 5 illustrates a first exemplary method for providing ENUM in an LNPenvironment; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a second exemplary method for providing ENUM in anLNP environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems for providing an ENUM specification in an LNPenvironment are described hereafter. In the following detaileddescription of the present invention, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentinvention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe present invention may be practiced without these specific details.In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form rather than detail, in order to avoid obscuring the presentinvention.

This invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilledin the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

It also will be understood that, as used herein, the term “comprising”or “comprises” is open-ended, and includes one or more stated elements,steps and/or functions without precluding one or more unstated elements,steps and/or functions.

The present invention is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods and wirelessterminals according to embodiments of this invention. It is understoodthat each block of the block diagrams and/or operational illustrations,and combinations of the blocks in the block diagram and/or operationalillustrations, can be implemented by radio frequency, analog and/ordigital hardware, and/or computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purposecomputer, special purpose computer, ASIC (application-specificintegrated circuit), stored on a computer readable medium, and/or otherprogrammable processing apparatus; and these computer programinstructions create means for implementing the functions/acts specifiedin the block diagrams and/or operational block or blocks. In somealternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks mayoccur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. Forexample, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or possibly inversely.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system 200 for providingENUM in an LNP environment according to this invention. As shown in FIG.2, an LNP/ENUM database 220 has been provisioned with the information ofboth an LNP database and an ENUM database. Thus, relative to the priorart system of FIG. 1, the information in the LNP database 120 and in theENUM database 135 have been combined in the LNP/ENUM database 220 ofFIG. 2. This configuration provides a centralized location for thiscombined database information which can serve both the originatingoffice and terminating office. Having a centralized location removesmany of the steps required in the conventional processes such as that ofFIG. 1. Thus, the load on the system resources is greatly reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the originating phone 205 is connected to theoriginating office 210, such that when a call is placed at theoriginating phone 205, it is processed at the originating office 210. Itshould be appreciated that, for illustrative purposes, the exchange andswitching devices common to telecommunications system are described andused herein interchangeably with the originating office 210 and theterminating office 225.

In the ENUM environment call process, there are two possible basic typesof call data output from an originating telephone 205. The first calldata output type is a POTS (plain old telephone system) type and thesecond call data output type is an IP (internet protocol) type. It ispossible to have an individual call utilize both types of call dataoutput, and in an ENUM environment it is expected that the call willnormally originate from a POTS terminal with the destination terminal inthe IP environment.

Within the IP types of calls, there are two basic paths for callconnection as known in the art, those connected from the originatingoffice and those connected from the terminating office. The first pathoccurs when the originating office 210 retrieves ENUM information at theoriginating office 210 through the STP, as the originating switch has atable of numbers including those that the originating office directlyaccesses and those that do not reside within the span of control of theoriginating office 210. Thus, the choice of routing is initiallydetermined by whether the originating office 210 has direct access.Where the originating office has direct access, the originating office210 will additionally then determine whether the originating office hasthe capabilities of IP interface to react to the response from the ENUMdirected termination. If the originating office does have the capabilityof final handling an IP interface, the originating office 210 willhandle the call; while if the originating office 210 does not have thecapability, then the terminating office 225 will be required to handlethe call for final processing. As typical in the art, geographicconsiderations will also apply. Thus, if the called number would requireintertoll (long distance), then the originating office 210 recognizesthis from its internal tables and routes the call to an IXC(interexchange (long distance) carrier). The IXC would then perform theLNP dip (?) prior to handing the call to the terminating office 225.Where the second path to the terminating office is chosen, a look up atthe ENUM/LNP database 220 occurs from there. It will be appreciated thatthe second path type typically involves a call that has been directlysent to the terminating office without first performing an ENUM lookupat the originating office.

The following descriptions will be directed towards the IP type calldata, where the origination is in the POTS environment.

In the first IP call path type, upon placing a call at the originatingphone 205, the originating office 210 performs a digit analysis from theassociated table of numbers on the dialed digits to determine how toroute the call. For example, the digit analysis may determine that thetermination telephone/terminal 240 is a POTS device. If it is indicatedby the digit analysis in the originating switch that the terminatingtelephone/terminal 240 is a POTS device, the call is directly connected(in the case of same serving office) or immediately routed to theappropriate switch(es) to connect the call. However, if the originatingoffice digit analysis determines that the digits indicate an IPterminating device, the call is then handled as an IP call. As an IPcall, the originating office also determines if the terminating exchangein the terminating office 225 does not reside on the originating switchand if the terminating exchange is marked portable.

For an IP call, the originating office 210 has what is broadly referredto herein as an originating means that encompasses those elements thatthen send an LNP query or request based on the dialed digits to theLNP/ENUM database 220 through the STP 215. The LNP/ENUM database 220returns an LNP response containing the LRN (location routing number, forexample 404-236-XXXX) of the recipient switch (terminatingoffice/exchange) to the originating means. The LRN returned can indicatethat the recipient switch (or device) has either a POTS format or an IPformat. Should the LRN indicate a POTS format, the call is directlyconnected or a normal POTS routing takes effect. However, if the LRNindicates that the recipient switch (or exchange) is an IP device, inaddition to the LRN, the LNP Database 220 also returns the ENUMinformation included in the NAPTR records to the originating means.

For an IP device, the originating means of the originating office 210then receives the LNP/ENUM response and analyzes the data. The NAPTRrecords therein indicate what information format the telephone/terminal240 or the terminating office 225 can receive. For example, the terminal240 can be a POTS or an IP device. In the case of POTS termination, theLRN is translated in the originating switch routing tables and an ISUP(integrated services digital network user part) switching sequenceroutes the call from the originating office to the terminating office.

The terminating office receives and processes the contents of thereceived information. If the terminating office then determines that theLRN is received and that the GAP (Generic Address Parameter) parameterbelongs to a termination point served by this office, that number isprocessed in the receiving office for allowed/contracted features andservices. If the services for this termination point include ENUMservice, the terminating office 225 interrogates the ENUM/LNP databasecontent to identify the terminating entity (telephone 240) and deliverymethod. The terminating switch then completes the call from telephone205 to telephone 240 as described in the following paragraph.

In the second IP call path type, upon placing a call at the originatingphone 205 and making the initial determinations as noted above, the calldata is transferred directly to the terminating office 225 withoutperforming a data type analysis. Upon receipt of the call data, theterminating office 225 performs a digit analysis on the dialed digits(as described above for the originating office) to determine how toroute the call. If the digit analysis indicates that the call data is ina POTS format, the call data is processed and sent directly to thetelephone 240. Otherwise, if the digit analysis determines that the calldata is in an IP format, the call is, by what is broadly referred toherein as a terminating means that encompasses those elements needed,transferred to media gateway 230 and an ENUM look up is then performedin the LNP/ENUM database 220. In response to the ENUM look up, theLNP/ENUM database returns the ENUM information including the NAPTRinformation to the terminating means. Based on the returned NAPTRinformation, the call is processed by the media gateway 230 andconnected to the appropriate receiver or terminal. For example, an SIPcall can be connected to the telephone 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates an expanded view of the originating office 210.Contained in the originating office 210 are the originating end office310, the signaling network 314, and the central office 316.

The central office 316, as shown in greater detail in FIG. 4, isprovisioned with LNP capabilities. The central office 316 can be asingle office or a multiplicity of offices that lead to the office thatis directly down the line (N-1) from the terminating office or theservice platform being designated by dialed call data. The centraloffice 316 also contains additional switching equipment and exchangesfor connecting subscribers to each other, locally and long distance.

The originating end office 310 can be any central office to which atelephone subscriber is connected, such as a Class 5 office. Theoriginating end office 310 can also be the last central office beforethe subscriber's phone equipment and which actually delivers the dialtone to the subscriber.

As shown in FIG. 4, the central office 316 contains a POTS applicationpreferably as part of a POTS processor 333, an LNP applicationpreferably as part of a POTS processor 332, and a routing table 334. Inaddition, as typical in the art, central office 316 also includes amemory 336 and a controller 338 which are all connected together.

The POTS processor 333 can be any device capable of providing signalingto basic service single line telephones, telephone lines and access tothe public switched network. Upon determination that the incoming calldata is in a POTS format, the POTS processor 333 receives the data,performs any necessary conversions and proceeds to directly connect thecall as indicated by the instructions of the incoming/origination calldata.

The LNP processor 332 can be any device capable of performing an LNPlookup, receiving and deciphering LNP responses, and handling call databased on the returned response. The LNP processor 332 handles allincoming calls.

The routing table 334 is a user definable list of steps that aretreatment instructions for calls. As shown in FIG. 3, the routing table334 includes a listing of known terminations (instructions) for dialedprefixes. For example, when the prefix “404-236” is dialed, the handlerinstruction indicates that the number is a POTS type call and directsthe central office 316 to route the call to the responsible carrier'strunk group through the POTS processor 333. If the prefix “404-758” isdialed instead, the handler instruction indicates that the number isportable and this call will be routed to the LNP processor 332. There,an LNP/ENUM lookup will be performed through the STP 215 at the LNP/ENUMdatabase 220.

For incoming calls, these steps should be addressed and the calltreatment begun before the call is answered by the terminating office.The routing table 334 consists of the steps that include agent groups,voice response devices, announcements (delay and informational), musicon hold, intraflow steps, and route dialing (machine based callforwarding). For outgoing calls, the routing table provides the longdistance routing choices for each location to be dialed.

In operation, the process for the first IP call path type as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 2-4 is depicted as a block flow diagram inFIG. 5. Thus, upon placing a call as shown as start step S100 at theoriginating phone 205, the originating office 210 determines at stepS200 that the call is initiated from the originating office 210 and instep S300 that the call was received at the originating end office 310associated therewith. The originating office 210 via LNP capable (N-1)central office 316 at step S400 then performs with LNP capable (N-1)central office 316 a digit analysis on the dialed digits to determinehow to route the call. If the digit analysis determines that thetelephone 240 is a POTS device, the call is directly connected orimmediately routed to the appropriate switches to connect the call usingPOTS processor 333. However, if the LNP capable (N-1) central office 316of the originating office 210 determines that the dialed digits indicatean IP device, the call is then handled as an IP call. As an IP call, theLNP capable (N-1) central office 316 of the originating office thendetermines if the terminating exchange in the terminating office 225does not reside on the originating switch, and if the terminatingexchange is marked portable.

Next, the originating office 210 at step S500 sends an LNP query basedon the dialed digits to the LNP/ENUM database 220 through the STP 215.As shown at step S600, the LNP/ENUM database 220 returns an LNP responsecontaining the LRN (location routing number, for example 404-236-XXXX)of the recipient switch (terminating office/exchange). The LRN returnedcan indicate that the recipient switch (or device) has either a POTSformat (NO—thus leading to branch N) or an IP format (YES—thus leadingto branch Y). Should the LRN indicate a POTS format, then at step S700this response is noted and at step S800 the call is directly connectedor a normal POTS routing will take effect; after which this portion ofthe processing ends at step S1600. Of course, if the LRN indicates thatthe recipient switch (or exchange) is an IP device (branch Y), then afurther query is made as shown at step S900 to determine whether thereis an ENUM entry as well. If the query at step S900 indicates that thereis no ENUM entry, branch N (NO) is taken and as shown at step S1400 therouting table 334 of LNP central office 316 is used to provide the LRNso that the LRN is in turn used to complete the call at step S1500 sothat this processing ends at step S1600.

If the query at step S900 indicates that there is an ENUM entry, branchY (YES) is taken and as shown at step S1000 the domain of the ENUM DNS(domain name systems) is also determined in database 220. From there,the calling information in then used in step S1100 to select theassociated NAPTR records. The originating office 210 then receives theLNP response and the NAPTR records from the LNP database 220, whichNAPTR records indicate what information format the telephone 240 or theterminating office 225 can receive. For example, the telephone 240 canbe a POTS or an IP device. The LRN is thus translated in the LNP routingtables 334 and an ISUP switching sequence route from the originatingoffice to the terminating office is determined. The call with the NAPTRentry is then routed at steps S1200 and S1300 from the originatingoffice 210 to the terminating office 225 based on the determined routeand this processing ends at step S1600.

As noted above, after step S1600, the terminating office receives andprocesses the contents of the received information. The terminatingoffice then determines that the LRN is received and that it belongs tothis LRN. The terminating office 225 interrogates the IP content toidentify the terminating entity (telephone 240). Finally, a digitanalysis is performed and the terminating office finds the appropriatedevice (i.e., telephone 240) on its network. The terminating switch thencompletes the call from telephone 205 to telephone 240.

In operation, the process for the second IP call path type as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 2-4 is depicted as a block flow diagram inFIG. 6. Thus, in a manner similar to the first IP call path discussed inFIG. 5, upon placing a call as shown as start step S2000 at theoriginating phone 205, the originating office 210 determines at stepS2100 that the call is initiated from the originating office 210 and instep S2200 that the call was received at the originating end office 310associated therewith. Next, but contrary to the first IP call path, thecall data is transferred directly at step S2300 to the terminatingoffice 225 without performing a data type analysis. Upon receipt of thecall data at step S2400, the terminating office 225 performs a digitanalysis on the dialed digits to determine how to route the call and asshown at step S2500 whether the call has an IP format. If the digitanalysis indicates that the call data is in a POTS format, the call datais processed as such and sent directly to the telephone 240.

However, if the digit analysis at step S2500 determines that the calldata is in an IP format, the call is transferred to the media gateway230 at step S2600 and an ENUM look up is performed in the LNP database220 as schematically shown in steps S2700, S2800 and S2900. In responseto the ENUM look up, the LNP/ENUM database returns the ENUM informationincluding the NAPTR information as shown in step S3000. Based on thereturned NAPTR information, the call is processed by the media gateway230 and connected at step S3100 to the appropriate receiver so that thisprocessing thus ends at step S3200. For example, a SIP call can beconnected at step S3100 to the telephone 240.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing telephone number mappingin a local number portability environment, the system comprising: anoriginating office of a service provider, the originating officecomprising an originating end office, and a local number portabilitycapable central office; a terminating office in communication with theoriginating office; and a combined local number portability andtelephone number mapping database in communication with the originatingoffice and the terminating office, wherein the originating officereceives, at the originating end office, a call placed by an originatingdevice to a terminating device, the originating end office forwards thecall to the local number portability capable central office, the localnumber portability capable central office queries the combined localnumber portability and telephone number mapping database based upondialed digits of the call with a single query, the combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database returns a singleresponse, the single response containing local number portabilityinformation when the terminating device is a plain old telephone systemdevice and local number portability and telephone number mappinginformation when the terminating device is an internet protocolterminating device, and the local number portability capable centraloffice analyzes the single response to determine how to route the call,the call being directly connected to the terminating device through theterminating office if the terminating device is the plain old telephonesystem device, and wherein if the terminating device is the internetprotocol terminating device, the local number portability capablecentral office receives the single response including local numberportability and telephone number mapping information, and handles thecall according to the response from the combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein if the local number portability capable central officeis not capable of handling the call, the terminating office handles thecall.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a signal transferpoint connecting the originating office to the combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the originating office retrieves telephone numbermapping information through the signal transfer point.
 5. The system ofclaim 4, wherein the response contains a location routing number of theterminating office.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the locationrouting number in the response indicates that the terminating office hasone of a plain old telephone system format and an internet protocolformat.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein if the location routing numberin the response indicates that the terminating office is the internetprotocol format, the combined local number portability and telephonenumber mapping database returns telephone number mapping informationwith the location routing number in the response.
 8. The system of claim7, wherein the response further includes naming authority pointerrecords from the combined local number portability and telephone numbermapping database.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein naming authoritypointer records in the response indicate an information format that theterminating office can receive.
 10. A system for providing telephonenumber mapping in a local number portability environment, the systemcomprising: an originating office of a service provider, the originatingoffice comprising an originating end office, and a local numberportability capable central office; a terminating office incommunication with the originating office; and a combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database in communication withthe originating office and the terminating office, wherein theoriginating end office receives a call placed by an originating deviceto a terminating device, the originating end office forwards the call tothe local number portability capable central office, the local numberportability capable central office directly connects the call to theterminating office, the terminating office queries the combined localnumber portability and telephone number mapping database based upondialed digits of the call with a single query, the combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database returns a singleresponse, the single response containing local number portabilityinformation when the terminating device is a plain old telephone systemdevice and local number portability and telephone number mappinginformation when the terminating device is an internet protocolterminating device, and the terminating office analyzes the singleresponse to determine how to route the call, wherein if the terminatingdevice is the plain old telephone system device the call is sentdirectly to the terminating device, and wherein if the terminatingdevice is the internet protocol terminating device, the terminatingoffice receives the single response including local number portabilityand telephone number mapping information, and handles the call accordingto the response from the combined local number portability and telephonenumber mapping database.
 11. The system of claim 10, further comprisinga media gateway in communication with the terminating office and thecombined local number portability and telephone number mapping database.12. The system of claim 11, wherein the media gateway processes the calland connects to the terminating device.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein naming authority pointer records in the response indicate aninformation format the terminating device can receive.
 14. A method ofproviding telephone number mapping in a local number portabilityenvironment, the method comprising: receiving a call at an originatingend office of an originating office, the originating office comprising alocal number portability capable central office; forwarding, by theoriginating end office, the call to the local number portability capablecentral office; generating, by the local number portability capablecentral office, a local number portability query; sending, by the localnumber portability capable central office, the local number portabilityquery to a combined local number portability and telephone numbermapping database; receiving, by the local number portability centraloffice, a single response from the local number portability andtelephone number mapping database, the single response containing localnumber portability information when the terminating device is a plainold telephone system device and local number portability and telephonenumber mapping information when the terminating device is an internetprotocol terminating device; analyzing, by the local number portabilitycapable central office, the single response to determine how to routethe call; determining, by the local number portability capable centraloffice, that the call is directed to an internet protocol device; androuting, by the local number portability capable central office, thecall according to the single response.
 15. The method of claim 14,further comprising determining the terminating office does not reside onan originating switch.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the localnumber portability query is sent through a signal transfer point. 17.The method of claim 14, wherein the response includes a location routingnumber of the internet protocol device.
 18. The method of claim 14,further comprising determining whether the combined local numberportability and telephone number mapping database includes a telephonenumber mapping entry for the internet protocol device.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising receiving naming authority pointer recordsfrom the combined local number portability and telephone number mappingdatabase.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the naming authoritypointer records indicate an information format the internet protocoldevice and terminating office can receive.